title: Developing a university-workforce partnership to address rural and frontier MCH training needs: the Rocky Mountain Public Health Education Consortium (RMPHEC).
abstract: The objective of the article is to provide the socio-cultural, political, economic, and geographic conditions that justified a regional effort for training maternal and child health (MCH) professionals in the Rocky Mountain region, describe a historical account of factors that led to the development of the Rocky Mountain Public Health Education Consortium (RMPHEC), and present RMPHEC as a replicable model developed to enhance practice/academic partnerships among state, tribal, and public health agencies and universities to enhance public health capacity and MCH outcomes. This article provides a description of the development of the RMPHEC, the impetus that drove the Consortium's development, the process used to create it, and its management and programs. Beginning in 1997, local, regional, and federal efforts encouraged stronger MCH training and continuing education in the Rocky Mountain Region. By 1998, the RMPHEC was established to respond to the growing needs of MCH professionals in the region by enhancing workforce development through various programs, including the MCH Certificate Program, MCH Institutes, and distance learning products as well as establishing a place for professionals and MCH agencies to discuss new ideas and opportunities for the region. Finally over the last decade local, state, regional, and federal efforts have encouraged a synergy of MCH resources, opportunities, and training within the region because of the health disparities among MCH populations in the region. The RMPHEC was founded to provide training and continuing education to MCH professionals in the region and as a venue to bring regional MCH organizations together to discuss current opportunities and challenges. RMPHEC is a consortium model that can be replicated in other underserved regions, looking to strengthen MCH training and continuing education.
authors.affiliation: Division of Health Promotion Sciences, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, 1295 N. Martin Avenue, P.O. Box 245163, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA. taren@email.arizona.edu
authors.forename: Douglas L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Taren
authors.forename: Frances
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Varela
authors.forename: Jo Ann W
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dotson
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Eden
authors.forename: Marlene
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Egger
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harper
authors.forename: Rhonda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: Helene
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kent
authors.forename: Myra
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muramoto
authors.forename: Jane C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Peacock
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Sheila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sjolander
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Streeter
authors.forename: Lily
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Velarde
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hill
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004496:Education, Continuing; D020375:Education, Distance; D040381:Education, Public Health Professional / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008430:Maternal-Child Health Centers; D015205:Northwestern United States; D012424:Rural Population; D015206:Southwestern United States; D014495:Universities